New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, November 2, 2018:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Nov. 2, 2018
* NYNY1811.02

- Birds Mentioned

ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER+
SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER+
NORTHERN WHEATEAR+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Common Eider
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Red-necked Grebe
HUDSONIAN GODWIT
MARBLED GODWIT
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
Parasitic Jaeger
Black-legged Kittiwake
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Royal Tern
Cory’s Shearwater
Northern Gannet
CATTLE EGRET
Purple Finch
RED CROSSBILL
COMMON REDPOLL
Pine Siskin
EVENING GROSBEAK
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Vesper Sparrow
LARK SPARROW
DICKCISSEL

(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

If followed by (+) please submit documentation of your report electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/goodreport.htm

You can also send reports and digital image files via email to nysarc44nybirdsorg

If electronic submission is not possible, hardcopy reports and photos or sketches are welcome. Hardcopy documentation should be mailed to:

Gary Chapin - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
125 Pine Springs Drive
Ticonderoga, NY 12883

Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert
Number: (212) 979-3070

Compilers: Tom Burke and Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County

Transcriber: Gail Benson

[~BEGIN RBA TAPE~]

Greetings! This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, November 2, 2018 at 10:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are NORTHERN WHEATEAR, SCISSOR-TAILED and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, BLACK-HEADED GULL, HARLEQUIN DUCK, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, MARBLED and HUDSONIAN GODWITS, CATTLE EGRET, LARK SPARROW, EVENING GROSBEAK, COMMON REDPOLL, RED CROSSBILL, DICKCISSEL and more.

Most notable among a nice list of rarities this week was a NORTHERN WHEATEAR spotted last Sunday at Heckscher State Park. The WHEATEAR hunted from various perches along the park roadway’s median strip and adjacent road edges through Tuesday, providing wonderful views during its stay near the new cottage construction on the east side of the park.

Then on Wednesday Heckscher produced an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER; somewhat more elusive as it foraged around Field 6 and the former pool building closer to Field 7 both Wednesday and Thursday. The ASH-THROATED was not uncovered today, but once the strong winds abate it might resurface there this weekend.

The SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER present at the Deep Hollow Dude Ranch out in Montauk on October 20th and 21st was not reported during the week until seen again and photographed there last Sunday. Check the pastures on the south side of Route 27 if in that area.

Last Saturday’s storm produced some interesting avian results, including an immature BLACK-HEADED GULL at Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton and an HUDSONIAN GODWIT along Horsemill Lane in Mecox. At Riis Park, where the rains were less intense, the morning’s totals included 3 COMMON EIDER and a drake HARLEQUIN DUCK, 8 PARASITIC JAEGERS, 3 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, 2 CASPIAN, 2 BLACK and 44 ROYAL TERNS and 642 NORTHERN GANNETS. Enduring more rain, birders at Robert Moses State Park tallied a few PARASITIC JAEGERS and 2 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES as well as 22 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, the latter comparable to the 24 counted on eastern Long Island, where some CORY’S SHEARWATERS were also added to the mix.

A shorebird of note from last Saturday was a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE on Fisher’s Island, where a drake HARLEQUIN DUCK was also present.

Following the storm, a strong flight Tuesday morning, especially along Long Island’s south shore, provided an estimated 10,000 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS passing by Robert Moses State Park, but perhaps more significant were over 2,000 each of PINE SISKIN and PURPLE FINCH – a good year for winter finches looking better and better. More evidence of this were the 2 EVENING GROSBEAKS at Sunken Meadow State Park Sunday, a male lingering to Tuesday, and singles over Moses Park Wednesday and at a Mastic home Thursday. If not yet convinced, single COMMON REDPOLLS were heard over Moses Park Wednesday and in northern Westchester Thursday, and 2 RED CROSSBILLS were reported from Midland Beach on Staten Island Wednesday.

At Jones Beach West End up to 5 MARBLED GODWITS were seen on the island off the Coast Guard Station at least to Wednesday, and single LARK and VESPER SPARROWS were there last Sunday. Other VESPER SPARROWS included 2 on Governor’s Island Sunday and 2 at Brooklyn’s Calvert Vaux Park Tuesday, with several others also about.

On Thursday, of note were a drake HARLEQUIN DUCK at Point Lookout and a RED-NECKED GREBE off Brooklyn’s Plumb Beach.

A small invasion of CATTLE EGRETS featured 2 Monday off Depot Lane in Cutchogue, 1 at Heckscher Park Tuesday, 2 at Timber Point Golf Course Wednesday, and 1 at Wainscott Pond today.

Single DICKCISSELS were at Sunken Meadow Sunday to Thursday and at Moses Park Field 5 Tuesday.

A YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT stayed in Manhattan’s City Hall Park to Monday, with another in Brookhaven Wednesday, and several ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS were seen during the week, along with a nice assortment of other lingering Warblers.

To phone in reports, on Long Island call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126 or call Tom Burke at (914) 967-4922 and leave a message.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.

- End transcript